Portable electronic devices such as smartphones and tablet computers seem to be everywhere these days. The global market for the portable electronic device market continues to grow astronomically as, for example, more people turn in basic phones that lack the ability to download applications (i.e., “apps”) and connect to the Internet for devices with advanced features. Today's advanced portable electronic devices can run a rich variety of third-party apps. There are hundreds and thousands of apps for both work and play. For example, the Android Market boasts over 100,000 apps available for download, with many more apps being added each and every day. In almost all cases, there is an app for whatever one can think of, from recipes to sports to travel to games.
A person's smartphone is often a vital part of daily life. People rely on their smartphones for so much—e-mail, texting, social networking, “cool” apps, banking, shopping, and much more. A phone can hold lots of personal information, connect to various mobile networks, and can even do financial transactions. As use of the phone increases, so does its value to attackers. People desire to protect their phone from a variety of threats such as mobile malware, Trojans, worms, attempts to steal private data, apps that crash the operating system, and apps that drain the battery—just to name a few examples.
Malicious websites can exploit the phone or other mobile or portable electronic device through a web browser or may convince a user to download a malicious application; phishing sites can deceive a user and convince them to reveal login credentials or other sensitive data. A user can encounter a malicious page via a link in an e-mail message, an SMS or MMS message, a website (all types of sites, including search engines, social networking sites, and content sites), or a mobile application. Malicious content or functionality may also appear on a normally benevolent website.
In addition to protecting people from undesirable events it is also desirable to provide people with a good user experience. Generally, people desire systems and techniques that offer fast response times. As more and more people acquire network-enabled devices, such as smartphones, and access a network, such as the Internet, there is an increasing amount of network traffic. This can lead to long response times and many frustrated users. For example, when a user attempts to connect to a website, there are a number of processes and transactions that occur and which take time—time that can turn a productive experience into a frustrating experience.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide systems and techniques to identify and block threats. It is desirable to provide systems and techniques to enhance user experience.